YASSER ARAFAT     Palestinian Authority President

• Born August 24, 1929, in Cairo, the sixth of seven children. • After his mother died when he was four, he was sent to Jerusalem to live with an uncle. • Studied engineering at the University of Cairo, graduating in 1951. • While a student, he procurred weapons to be smuggled into Israel for the Arab cause. • In 1959 he co-founded Fatah, a Palestinian liberation movement. • This group became part of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), formed in 1964. The PLO moved base from Jordan to Lebanon in 1971. • In 1974 he was allowed to address the United Nations, which granted observer status to the PLO. • Fled to Tunisia in 1982 when Israel bombarded Beirut. • He proclaimed an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1988, saying the PLO renounced terrorism. By the end of the year 70 countries recognised the PLO. • In 1990 the PLO officially recognised Israel, and in 1993 Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin signed the Oslo peace accords. • Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, with Rabin and Israel Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. • Won a landslide victory in 1996 to become Palestinian Authority President.